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Topic: milk goat (Read 8504 times)

Forgot to answer the thread's question earlier (sorry): yep you can make butter, each different type of goat has higher or lower butterfat content but it doesn't seperate like cow milk, so a seperator is preferred and they can seem expensive. It's something else I'm shopping for this summer/fall/winter...

I had nubian milk goats for quite a while . Electric fences are the way to go withgoats . I had no problem at all drinking goats milk . Made butter & several differentcheeses . Had a seperator . If anyone within driving distance of you has a buck , thebest thing to do would be to take the does & get them bred . Buck goats are nastycritters . You might check around to see if anyone in your area has milk goats & abuck & get the same breed so you could use their buck . I usually had to pay a smallfee for breeding . I didn't want horns so I disbudded the kids when they were small .About 10 seconds on each bud with a hot disbudding iron . The kids would squall alittle but was fine as soon as it was over . Hoof triming must be done regularly andthe part I disliked the most . Not really a problem but something you need to keepon top of .

i want to get the mini-milker in the spring. looking to see if anyone knows of a reputable mini dealer within a couple of states of me. i know there is a guy in idaho that does a lot of business in oregon, but i'd like to investigate more than one breeder.

thanks!!

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.....The greatest changes occur in their country without their cooperation. They are not even aware of precisely what has taken place. They suspect it; they have heard of the event by chance. More than that, they are unconcerned with the fortunes of their village, the safety of their streets, the fate of their church and its vestry. They think that such things have nothing to do with them, that they belong to a powerful stranger called “the government.” They enjoy these goods as tenants, without a sense of ownership, and never give a thought to how they might be improved.....

Kathy, can't anwer any of your other questions but you could make real nice soap with the extra goat's milk.Their milk can also be frozen until you get around to doing something with it.Good luck with your endeavor. :) I am envious.

Kathy, what do you want to do with a goat? Maybe you should get an angora one, that way you could spin wool and make cheese. I cannot stand goat's milk. Think I may have posted this before. But I had two Nubians, milked them, one time drank some Kahlua and goat's milk. Had the most horrible goaty burps the next day, can't stand goat's milk to this day.....ich, oops, my bad, off topic I am sure, sorry, just a'ramblin' gal. Beautiful days, to live and love, to find and keep great health. Cindi

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There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold. The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold. The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee. Robert Service

cindi, i think this conversation was started before jody got her cows. i have kind of given up the goat thing because my husband is not a goats milk fan. i'm back to the mini milker cow. it's to much milk, but i think that's what i want to do anyway. just have to find a good place. apparently no all minis are created = !

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.....The greatest changes occur in their country without their cooperation. They are not even aware of precisely what has taken place. They suspect it; they have heard of the event by chance. More than that, they are unconcerned with the fortunes of their village, the safety of their streets, the fate of their church and its vestry. They think that such things have nothing to do with them, that they belong to a powerful stranger called “the government.” They enjoy these goods as tenants, without a sense of ownership, and never give a thought to how they might be improved.....

Our family has had dairy goats for a few years and it has been an EXTREMELY positive experience. Here are my thoughts:

Some goats tend to produce milk that has a "cleaner" taste than others (even within a given breed). Ideally you can sample the milk before you buy the doe. Also, I have noticed some variability in taste due to what the goats have been eating. Sometimes when they are more focused on leaves and tree buds the milk seems a bit bitter and tannic. The breed that we have is called Oberhasli (it is fairly common and was formely called Swiss Alpine).

Goats need structure to their routine (especially milking goats) and also are very social so you must have more than one (or a pet that will pretend it is a goat - if not, you get to become a goat). For what it is worth (and I don't have lots of goat breeding experience), consider getting a breed that is common enough to make finding a Billy for hire easy. Even if you aren't trying to do purebred, registered, blah, blah, blah, the kids are easier to sell if they aren't mutts.

thanks tim. i like goats milk and products. i think my husband would get over it. my problem with goats is behavior! i have never met a goat that i really liked......

the only drawback to all this is that it would be hard to take vacations together. we do manage to get away together once a year or so. most other times we are gone one at a time.

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.....The greatest changes occur in their country without their cooperation. They are not even aware of precisely what has taken place. They suspect it; they have heard of the event by chance. More than that, they are unconcerned with the fortunes of their village, the safety of their streets, the fate of their church and its vestry. They think that such things have nothing to do with them, that they belong to a powerful stranger called “the government.” They enjoy these goods as tenants, without a sense of ownership, and never give a thought to how they might be improved.....

Kathy,Our family has had dairy goats for a few years and it has been an EXTREMELY positive experience. Here are my thoughts: very social so you must have more than one (or a pet that will pretend it is a goat - if not, you get to become a goat). For what it is worth...Tim

Tim, OK my imagination wanders, I am picturing you as pretending to be that goat, eeks, that brings a huge smile to my face, and I love to smile, that brings me up and makes it all good, smiling. Have that greatfully most wonderful day, health. Cindi

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There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold. The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold. The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee. Robert Service

We tried a smaller but full size Jersey cow, she was a moody nightmare and stinky, we traded her in for a pair of great Alpine goats. The goats are much easier to handle, eat less, aren't smelly like the cow, yes they are playfull and energetic but also friendly and fun!

If you do choose to have a billy, as I do, fence your pasture so that your sire and your dames are not in the same pasture. Billy goats, sooner or later, develop the bad habit of urinating in their beards and they like to rub it all over everything, including the does and your clothes. This taints the milk giving it a sour beer taste.I currently have 2 Taugenburg does due to fresh between now and Thanksgiving as well as 2 Colombian/Romney cross sheep due to freshen around Christmas time.

I currently have them all running together along with the cheviot ram and Boer/Nubian buck. That's not a good choice because the males can endanger the new kids and lambs when they are newborns. I was forced to do that because I had to reseed and regrow the 1st pasture because it had gotten over grazed before I got the larger pasture fence finished. Previous to finishing the fence around the larger pasture I was feeding them primarily hay with what ever grazing the could get on the 1st pasture.

Come spring I will finish the orchard fence and have a 3rd pasture available at which time the ram and buck will be run on the regrown 1st pasture, seperate from the does and ewes and the ladies turned in with the sires once a year.

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Life is a school. What have you learned? :brian: The greatest danger to our society is apathy, vote in every election!

Used to work one of those every saturday when a lad back on the farm. Made the butter for the family for a week.

I've found billy goats to be more of a nusance than a problem. When I work with my air tools in a area the billy is he chews holes in the air hose, when I try to dig a hole in the pasture he's in he stands where I'm trying to dig. If I'm hand pounding nails (so as to save air hose) he either bites the buttons off my clothes or overturns the bucket of nails. Things like that.

I think I could better money for any goats I sell if I were to advertize them as organic law mowers and provide a pet anchor and tether with it.

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Life is a school. What have you learned? :brian: The greatest danger to our society is apathy, vote in every election!

Brian, my whether was a pest too, much more so than my does. Lets not forget that the Billy's STINK!! Ohhhh man do they smell! Cindi will attest to that! And the smell stays on things forever and 5 days! When that billy got into my pasture the barn stunk for months as did my doe! Skunks smell better. It is the type of smell you never forget, like something dead, you always remember. Much better to take your does to be bred if there is a billy available!just my 2cents worth! :-DJody

Lets not forget that the Billy's STINK!! Ohhhh man do they smell! Cindi will attest to that! And the smell stays on things forever and 5 days! :-DJody

Oh boy, Jody, do I have comments, but for the time being, until I get around to it, it will have to lie, like sleeping dogs, smiling. Remember the billy and the barbeque at the end of last summer. Have wonderful and most beautiful day, health. Cindi

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There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold. The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold. The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee. Robert Service

Oh Cindi, I get a smile on my face every time I think of that! The blank "what?" look on the guys faces as we girls were totally grossed out!! That day was a bright spot in my life being with you guys!Jody

We tried a smaller but full size Jersey cow, she was a moody nightmare and stinky, we traded her in for a pair of great Alpine goats. The goats are much easier to handle, eat less, aren't smelly like the cow, yes they are playfull and energetic but also friendly and fun!

I've heard that jerseys hands down give the best milk though - and was thinking that a mini jersey that gave about a half gallon a day might be the ticket. (a moody mini may not be as much a problem as comic relief, but of course I can't swear to it.)

I'm surprised no one mentioned goat cheese - that's supposed to be some kind of uber yuppie treat. (maybe yuppies can be trained with bits of goat cheese)